Greece Acts on its Own, Macedonia Ministry Says

This is the only official reaction that has been seen from the Macedonian side after Greece publicly suggested that the name “Northern Macedonia” could lead to the resolution of the nearly two decade long bilateral name spat.

Macedonian daily Utrinski Vesnik reported the reaction of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry, which accused the Greek politicians of “consciously neglecting the core of the UN sponsored talks and the need for equality and constructivism in finding a mutually acceptable compromise”.

Speaking to Greek media recently, Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas repeated that his country could accept the name "Northern Macedonia" for its northern neighbor.

Athens conditioned Skopje’s entry into NATO and the EU on a solution to the row, arguing that Skopje’s current official name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims against its own northern province, also called Macedonia.

The Macedonian Government must decide whether the latest suggestion is acceptable or not, EU Ambassador to Macedonia Erwan Fouere told media on Tuesday.
 
“Both parties should find a solution under the UN aegis. Every initiative is welcomed, as the matter requires an urgent solution. The sooner a solution is found the better,” he said.
 
Fouere confirmed that a fresh round of UN sponsored talks is slated for the second half of April, hoping that the meeting of both parties with the UN mediator Matthew Nimetz will finally produce a solution to the impasse.

Some local analysts argue that due to the lack of a clear stance from Macedonia’s top officials, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and President Georgi Ivanov, Athens has secured the image of the more constructive party in the row.

“The Greek stand is clear and defined with their red lines. What is worrisome is that we don’t know the definitive stand of the Macedonian political leadership- what is acceptable and what cannot be accepted under any circumstances,” international law and diplomacy professor at the Skopje FON University, Lazar Lazarov, told local Vreme daily.

Media in both countries mention June as an informal deadline that the EU has given to both sides to solve the spat. This would enable a quick start to Macedonia’s EU accession talks, which are currently blocked by Greece because of the dispute.